For Consistent Cougars, Success is Never out of Reach

5 years ago
For Consistent Cougars, Success is Never out of Reach

Aug 20, 2019
Jeff Falk
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FEATURE STORIES, Football, Palmyra
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BY JEFF FALK

PALMYRA – There’s a lot to be said for consistency. When it comes to Lebanon County football programs, you know what you’re getting out of the Palmyra Cougars, year-in, year-out, week-in, week-out.

Palmyra has made a habit of beating the teams its better than, surprising the teams who are better than it and competing every time out. The key to the Cougars’ success has originated from three basic sources – stability, preparation and an uncanny ability to flip a switch when the lights come on.

As Palmyra prepares for its 2019 campaign, the Cougars are simply looking for more of the same. Sometimes maintaining can be a difficult task, but it can also be a precursor to taking the next step.

“I appreciate that,” said Palmyra head coach Chris Pope. “We work very hard to get everything out of what we have. Every school is going to have ebbs and flows, go up and down. We work really hard to maximize our ability.

“I think we’re (the program) in a good place right now,” added Pope. “We’ve had to change the climate of the program and the culture of the program. I remember one year we went 6-4 and the players were upset because they thought we underachieved. I feel like what’s expected has changed. Wins are an expectation that we want to achieve at this level.”

Last year’s campaign was merely an extension of that process.

Palmyra went 8-2 during the regular season and again qualified for the District Three postseason. But there are some notable voids that remain to be filled.

“We did a great job of getting that team to perform,” said Pope, who’s in his 13th seaon of heading the program. “I have a great coaching staff and they did a good job of getting people where they needed to be. But we’d all like to see the program get into the playoffs and advance past the first round.

“We want to take that next step,” Pope added. “We’ve done a good job of getting the program pointed in the right direction. We’d like to push into the playoffs, not just get into the playoffs.”

Evaluating talent and needs, moving players around and players taking advantage of their opportunities will once again be critical for the Cougars.

The fact that Palmyra’s roster of 50 players is comprised of a large senior class bodes well for it. The Cougars return six starters on offense and seven on the defensive side of the ball.

“It depends on how you look at it,” said Pope. “I think it’s both. This is a new season, but there is some carry-over from last year. We talk about it at the beginning and we talk about it at the end. There are people who are still here and I think they’re carrying over expectations that were molded last year. Everybody wants to do better than they did last year. But this is a new team and there’s different challenges.

“You always want to get better,” continued Pope. “We spent so much time together in the off-season, we know what we have to do. There’s not a whole lot of juniors, so we’re asking some of the sophomores to contribute. We have our work cut out for us.”

The guys who will make the Cougars go reside up front, along the offensive and defensive lines. It is a group spearheaded by senior Jake Miller, senior Justin Arndt, junior Tyler Shertzer and junior Justin Uhler.

“I like the chemistry of this team,” said Pope. “We have some really good leaders. We have a lot of connection from top to bottom, because there’s not a lot in the middle. Somewhere at LVC (team camp), we found ourselves, and we’ve been building on it ever since. I like their character and their work ethic.

“We’ve had to replace a couple linemen,” Pope continued. “We’re in a situation where we’re digging a little deeper. We’re going to have sophomores contributing on Friday nights.”

Palmyra is talented at the skill positions as well. Senior quarterback Stephen Lyons is in line to take over the reigns of the offense, while senior receiver Kasey Shughart, senior receiver Nick Morder, junior athlete Seth Robertson, senior end Frank Errichetti, senior running back Brandon Luft, senior running back Mike Petrino and senior running back Ethan Burkholder all figure to get their hands on balls.

“It’s always fun to win,” said Pope. “I don’t know if I have a certain number of wins in mind. We all want to go to the playoffs. We want to play our best and prepare our best.

“I’m excited for what the year holds,” continued Pope. “As a staff, you always want to assess the coaching job you’re doing. Are we able to get them (the players) where we need to?’

Palmyra will begin its 2019 season on Friday, August 23rd at rival Hershey.

To purchase images in this article email jkfalk2005@yahoo.com.

2019 Palmyra Football Schedule

Date	Opponent
8/307:00p	@ Mechanicsburg (Mechanicsburg, PA) Location: Mechanicsburg High School
9/67:00p	Garden Spot (New Holland, PA) Location: Palmyra High School
9/137:00p	@ East Pennsboro (Enola, PA) Location: East Pennsboro High School
9/207:00p	Camp Hill (Camp Hill, PA) Location: Palmyra High School
9/277:00p	@ Steelton-Highspire (Steelton, PA) Location: Steelton-Highspire High School
10/47:00p	Boiling Springs (Boiling Springs, PA) Location: Palmyra High School
10/117:00p	@ Milton Hershey (Hershey, PA) Location: Milton Hershey High School
10/187:00p	Trinity (Camp Hill, PA) Location: Palmyra High School
10/257:00p	Middletown (Middletown, PA) Location: Palmyra High School

2019 Palmyra Football Roster


Number	Name	Class	Height	Weight	Position
3	Seth Robertson	11	5-7	150	QB/DB
4	Nick Morder	12	5-9	150	WR/DB
5	Brady Holwig	10	5-8	180	QB/LB
6	Kasey Shughart	12	5-8	160	WR/DB
7	Levi Toure	10	5-6	185	RB/LB
8	Jacob Deimling	10	5-9	150	WR/DB
10	Stephen Lyons	12	6-1	195	QB/LB
11	Jase Jones	10	5-9	155	WR/DB
13	Sam Landon	11	5-7	150	RB/DB
14	Frank Errichetti, III	12	6-0	185	WR/LB
15	Jack Stretch	11	6-0	180	WR/DE
17	Max Klipa	10	5-8	130	WR/DB
18	Garrett Kohr	12	5-9	150	P
19	Manny Rose	10	5-9	150	K
20	Anthony Mansfield	10	5-9	135	WR/DB
21	Justin Uhler	12	6-0	180	TE/LB
22	Zach Machinga	12	5-5	150	RB/LB
23	Emiliano Rodriguez	12	5-9	220	RB/LB
24	Nick Wallaesa	11	5-6	150	RB/DB
25	Derrick Witherson	10	5-10	155	WR/DB
26	Richie Kowalski	10	5-7	140	RB/DB
30	Brandon Luft	12	5-7	165	RB/DB
31	Matt Hines	12	6-0	170	K
32	Mike Petrino	12	5-7	210	RB/LB
33	DaShaun Nye	10	5-5	150	RB/LB
34	Drew Chapin	12	6-0	155	WR/DB
35	Brady Coburn	11	5-9	140	WR/DB
42	Maverick Lebo	11	6-4	185	TE/DL
43	Ethan Burkholder	12	5-10	170	RB/LB
50	Jake Miller	12	6-0	255	OL/DL
52	Skylar Sears	10	5-11	190	OL/DL
53	Derek Reyes-Leon	10	5-5	265	OL/DL
54	Jordan Blauch	10	6-1	220	OL/DL
55	Jake Durant	10	5-7	175	OL/DL
56	Jaden Kreiser	12	6-1	210	OL/DL
61	Gavin Trostle	10	5-9	195	OL/DL
63	Alex Fuhrman	10	5-8	175	OL/LB
64	John Balchunas	10	6-1	230	OL/DL
65	Daniel Steskal	10	5-7	170	OL/DL
67	Jonathan Eisenhooth	10	6-2	230	OL/DL
71	Conner Holzman	10	6-0	215	OL/DL
72	Wesley Reid	12	5-10	215	OL/DL
73	Luke Gaugler	10	6-2	170	OL/DL
74	Justin Arndt	12	6-0	260	OL/DL
75	Kyle Chapin	9	5-10	200	OL/DL
76	Christian Ruiz	12	5-7	200	OL/DL
82	Joseph Pallone	12	6-1	170	WR/LB
84	Tristan Murawski	11	6-1	160	WR/DB
85	Deacon James Turner	10	5-7	145	WR/DB
87	Tyler Shertzer	11	6-3	210	TE/DL